Santa Cruz Shakespeare Fall Productions Open Sept. 5 and 12

September 1, 2026 – SANTA CRUZ, CA—Santa Cruz Shakespeare (SCS), a nationally recognized professional theatre company in Santa Cruz County with deep local roots that go back more than 45 years, today announced that two fall productions open in September: Private Lives by Noël Coward on Sept. 5 and The Last Five Years, a musical, by Jason Robert Brown, on Sept. 12. Both productions take place in the Audrey Stanley Grove in Santa Cruz’s DeLaveaga Park. Tickets are available at santacruzshakespeare.org.

Private Lives by Noël Coward

Director: Laura Gordon

Opening Night: September 5, 7 p.m.

Closing Night: October 4, 2 p.m.

Both on honeymoons with new spouses, having violently divorced years before, Amanda and Elyot discover each other sharing adjoining balconies in the same hotel. Well, one thing leads to another, and… sometimes the line between love and hate is so thin. With Coward’s searing wit, you’ll laugh until you cry while they scream until they kiss. And vice versa.

Starring Charles Pasternak as Elyot and Paige Lindsey White as Amanda. The ensemble includes Chris Cherin, Charlotte Boyce Munson and Izzy Pedego.

The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown

Director: Laura Gordon

Music Direction: Luke Shepherd

Opening Night: September 12, 7 p.m.

Closing Night: October 3, 7 p.m.

Brown’s gorgeous musical looks at the beginning and ending of a relationship through the eyes of Cathy and Jamie. In rotating songs, Cathy’s journey moves backward through the relationship, while Jamie’s moves forward. Through beautiful music and clever, moving lyrics, Brown looks deeply at the sacrifices we make, how we come to define each other, and what it costs to let it go.

Starring Chris Cherin as Jamie and Charlotte Boyce Munson as Cathy.

Musicians include Kristin Garbeff on cello and Luke Shepherd on piano.

“I love the way Private Lives and The Last Five Years speak to each other,” said Laura Gordon, director. “They’re both written by undisputed masters of their craft. Noël Coward is the unparalleled voice of effortless sophisticated wit and wisdom, with Private Lives having remained a masterpiece since it debuted in 1930. Jason Robert Brown is a multi-award-winning composer and lyricist. His Last Five Years is considered a generation-defining musical written at the beginning of this century. And while the styles of these plays may seem miles apart, they resonate off of each other thematically in quite compelling ways.”

“At their core they both speak to relationships in all their complicated glory: the highs and lows, the love and loss, the fighting and the making up,” continues Gordon. “We see their selfishness and generosity, their immaturity and depth. They both take us on heartfelt, thought provoking, and entirely human journeys.”

About Santa Cruz Shakespeare

Featuring professional actors from around the country and inspired by deep local roots that go back more than 45 years, Santa Cruz Shakespeare stages bold productions of the plays of Shakespeare and other great playwrights that stimulate audiences’ sensesand spark their imagination. www.santacruzshakespeare.org

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